Machine for folding sheet material



H."E. PELTO N. V I MACH I'NE FOR FOLDING SHEET MATERIAL. I APPLICATION FILED FEB- 9| 19 20.

,376,969. I Patented May 3, 1921 4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR HERBERT E. PELI'ON',

uummL 16 mm 1' 1s 1 I a ATTORNEY H. E. FELTON. MACHIN E FOR FOLDING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATIQN FILED FEB. 9.1920. 1,376,969. Patented May 3,1921.

INVENTOR 4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

H; E. PELTON.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING SHEET MATERIAL APPLAIACAITION FILED FEB.9.1920.' I 15376969. v ten May 3,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 lea INVENTOR v Hansen- E. PELTON'.

H. E. PELTON v MACHINE F OR FOLDING SHEET MA'ITERIAL.

APPLICATION FILH) FEB. 9, I920.

Patented M3 3, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 v INVENTOR Hansen? E. Pcu'cm ATTORNEY 2 the articles delivered from a mangle in laun UNITED stares smear orries.

HERBERT E. r E roN, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

MACHINE non FOLDING- SHEET MATERIAL.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, HERBERT'E. PnLToN, a

I citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in Machines for Fold-. 7 ,in

"is a specification.

Sheet Material, of which the following This invention relates to a machine for folding bed sheets, counterpanes, table cloths and other sheet articles, and particularly pertains to a mechanism adapted to act on dry operations to fold same.

It is the object of this lIIVGIltlOIliO provide. a means for folding a sheet article nto a series of successive zigzag folds of predein the fashion specified embodying-a reciprocable table to which the article may be fed dependently in su'chmanner as to arrange the article in superposed continuous folds.

Another object is to provide an effectlve mechanism for actuating the reciprocable table and to provide a constructlon whereby,

the length of the stroke of the table may be adjusted to vary the length of thefold as occasion may requlre.

A further object is to provide means I whereby the folded article may be removed from the reciprocating table while the latter. is in motion so that the folding mechanism may be of continuous operation and thereby obviate the necessity of delay in feeding the articles to the mangle so as to increase the output of the latter.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the machine as seen in end elevatlon;

Fig.2 is plan v1ew of same; I p 'Fig. 3 1s an enlarged detail v1ew 1n section and elevation, with portions removed,

as seen on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,i1lustratin the timing and control mechanism; K

Fig. 4 is a plan view of .the timing and control mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Fig, 5 is an enlarged detail view in section Specification of Letters Patent.

as seen on the line 7-7 Fig. .6 is a plan view of themechanism 1 shown in Fig. 5;

Patented May 3, 1921;" Application filed February 9, 1920. Serial No. 357153. f

Fig. '7 is a view in section and elevation I Fig.8 isa diagram illustrating the man}- nor of folding sheet, material into a series of successive zigzag folds by means of this inventlon. i

More specifically, 10 indicatesthe frame] of the machine which may be of any suitable construction and which frame carries a pair of parallel horizontally extending tracksil on which a horizontally extending carriage 12 is mounted for. reciprocal movement; the i carriage being here shown as comprising a rectangular .frame or table fitted with grooved rollers 14 arranged to travel onlthe tracks 11. Mounted on the under side of the carriage and extending transversely thereof,

parallelwith the tracks 11 and adjacent' V to the latter, is a pair of inverted toothed.

racks 15 engaged by pinions 16 on an auxili ary drive shaft 17, which shaft is designed to be alternately rotated in opposite directions;

to efiect. reciprocation of the carriage. The

shaft driving mechanism embodies a pair of toothed wheels 18 and 19 loosely mounted on the shaft 17 the toothed wheel 18 meshing with a pinion 20 on a main drive shaft 7 21 and the toothed wheel 19 meshing with a compound; pinion 22 having a tooth portion 23 meshing with a pinion 24; on the shaft 21.

The compound pinion serves to rotate the] toothed wheel 19 in a direction opposite that with is a double faced friction" clutch 25,

adapted to be moved alternately-in and out of engagement with the friction clutch faces on the toothed wheels 18 and 19 to effect rotation of the auxiliary drive shaft'through Means are provided for IV 100 the clutch member. automatically shifting the clutch member 25 controlled by movement of the carriage 12 whereby asthe carriage traverses a desired,

distance in'one directionthe clutchlmember- 1 willbe operated to reverse the rotation of the auxiliary drive shaft to effect reverse movement of the carriage. This mechanism embodies a sleeve 26 slidable on the shaft 1? connecting through a slot 27 in the shaft 17 to a rod 28 extending along a longitudinal bore 29 in the shaft 17 and connecting through slots 30 in the shaft 17 to the hub of the Clutch member 25. The grooved sleeve 26 is engaged by fingers 31 on a sleeve 32 splined on a collar 33 affixed to the frame 10 and encircling the shaft 17. The sleeve 32 is thus mounted for reciprocal movement in the direction of the length of the shaft 17 and is secured against rotation,

Mounted to oscillate on the collar 33 is member 34 having a hub 35 projecting into the sleeve 32 and which hub is formed with a peripheral cam groove 36 into which a pin 37 on the sleeve 32 projects and whichcam groove is of such shape as to operate through the pin 37 toadvance or retract the sleeve 32 on oscillation of the member 34. 38 pivoted on the collar 33 extends upwardly adjacent to the member 34 and is connected to the-latter by oppositely extending'helical springs 39 and 40, which springs bear be tween the opposite sides of the lever 38 and side flanges 41 on the member 34; the springs 39 and 40 normally positioning the lever 33 centrally between the flanges 41 and serving, on shifting the lever to one side or the other of its central position, to effect a quick movement of the member 34, when the pull ex rt- -ed upon a spring by movement of the lever is sufficient to overcome the resistance offered to movement of the member 34 cccasioned by the various connections thereto tend ng to oppose its movement. The member 34 wlth its side flanges 41 constitutes a reversing yoke and will be hereinafter thus designated. v

The lever 38 is designed to be shifted automatically by movement of the carriage 12 and for this purpose the carriage is fitted with a pair ofspaced stops 42 and 43 positioned on opposite sides of the lever 38 and adapted to engage the latter as the carriage advances to move the lever, from one side 'tion, the stops 42 and 43 are adjustable and for this purpose are threaded upon a shaft '44 formed with right and left hand threads 7 and which shaft is carried in suitable bearings 45 supported on the carriage'and is I fitted with a hand crank 46 by which the shaft 44n1aybe rotated to cause the stops 42 and'43 to be advanced or retracted reiative to each other a. bar 47 extending parallel with the shaft 44 slidably abutting A lever length of against the stops 42 and 43 to hold the lat- 50 carrying stud shafts 51 on which pulleys 52 are mounted; the pulleys .49 and 52 being alined with eachxother forming pairs of pulleys on the opposite sides of the carriage and carried by the latter with the forward pulleys spaced from the carriage a distance substantially corresponding to the length of the maximum stroke of the latter.

A belt 53 passes around each pair ofthe pulleys with the upper leaf thereof extending over and bearing upon the upper face of the carriage. A series of belts are thus provided and spaced ashort distance apart throughout the length of the carriage, on which belts the article to be folded is deposited as the carriage reciprocates. Normally the belts are stationary throughout any suitable number of reciprocations of the carriage and are designed to be advanced a distance substantially corresponding to the width of the carriage as the latter moves forward, for exampla'on each fourth reciprocation; the upper leaf of the belt being designed to move toward the forward pulleys 52 so as to carry the article deposited thereon onto the portions of the belts extending over the brackets 50 to a position clear of the body of the carriage and in front thereof. As a means for effecting intermittent. movement ofthe belts, a spur pinion 54 is mounted on the shaft 48 and pivoted on the frame beneath the pinion 54 is a rack bar 55 adapted to be moved in and out of engagement with the pinion and to be held in engagement with the latter an ,in-' terval during the forward. stroke of the carriage so that the pinion in riding over the rack, will rotate the shaft 48 in such direction as to advance the upper portion: of the belts, as before described; the rackbar being normally positioned out of engage ment with the pinion 54 during .a certain number of the strokes of the vcarriage and engaging with the pinion on certain forward strokes of the latter.

Vertical swinging movement .of therack bar is intermittently effected by meansof a cam 56, arranged ibeneath the bar in contact therewith, having a .projection157 adapted to engage and elevate the bar during a portion of-a revolution of the cam. Rota- 1 tion of the cam is effected step by step fasharticle disposed thereover on advanced ion with each movement controlled by some element of the machine having a determined'movement in relation to the reciprocation of the carriage, irrespective of va- 'riations in the lengths of the stroke of the latter, so that the cam will move one step,

at the termination of each stroke of the car riage, regardless ofthe length of the stroke. This element is here shown as comprlsing the oscillatory reversing yoke 34, movement of which is controlled through the lever 38,

which in turn is operated by the adjustable stops 42 and 43 on the'carriage to cause the yoke to'swing at the end of each stroke of the carriage to reverse movement of' the latter through the gear and clutch connections before described. The connections between the yoke and the cam, by which the latteris advanced a step on each oscillation ofthe yoke, 1s here shown as comprising a connecting rod 58 on the yoke, a lever 59 pivoted on the frame attached at its upper end to the connecting rod, a slide frame 60 connected to the lower end of the lever for reciprocal movement, a ratchet wheel 61 on a shaft 62 on which the cam 56 is mounted,

and oppositely operating pawls 63 and 64 'carriedby the slide frame and engaging the ratchet wheel 61 in such manner that as the slide frame is advanced or retracted, by

reason of its connection with the oscillating yoke, the ratchet wheel will be intermittently advanced in one direction to effect the desired rotation of the cam.

Means are provided for automatically delivering the folded sheet article from the projecting belts on the carriage when the latter are in an advanced position, which means are here shown as embodying a series of fingers 65 fixed on a rock shaft 66 and.

movement of the carriage immediately on 'the retrograde movement of the carriage following the advanced movement during which'the folded article was disposed for wardly of the carriage. The mechanism for efi'ecting'this movement of the rock shaft embodies a spur pinion 69 mounted on the shaft, adapted to be engaged by a rack bar 70 pivoted at 71 on an end bracket 50 and the outer end of which rack bar normally seats on a cam disk-72 mounted on aicam shaft 73 carrying a ratchet 74 engaged by pawls 75 and 76 carried on a reciprocal frame 77. A connecting rod 78163.68 from the reversing yoke 34 opposite the rod 58' and connects with a lever 79 pivoted at 80" and the lower end of which lever connects with the slide frame 7 7 in-such manner that the oscillations of the yoke will operate through the slide frame and the pawls thereon to rotate the ratchet wheel 74 and the cam 72 step by step fashion and thereby cause a-projection 8 1 on the cam 72 to engage-the rack bar and move the latter upwardly'into mesh with the pinion 69 at a time when the carriage is in its advanced position and returning on it's retrograde stroke, so that the rack'bar will act on the pinion to rotate the latter :and the shaft connected thereto substantially a half revolu tion, which operation causes the fingers 65 to pick up the article suspendedon the belt and to deliver it to a table 82, from whence it may be removed, in-any desired manner.

In the operation of the invention, the

sheet 83 to befolded is delivered from the discharge roll 84 ofamangle, as shown in Fig. 1, being preferably passedbetween a the reciprocable carriage,

.90 pair of feed rollers 85 arranged directly over 0n setting the carriage in motion, thesheetarticle is der posited thereon, as shown in Fig. 8', and caused by the movement of the carriage back and forth to be laid in a series of continuous c zigzag folds, the-lengths of which folds are adjusted by positioning of the stops-42 and 43, as before described, to regulate the length of stroke ofthe carriage. cMovement of, the 7' carriage is controlled as before specified and the folded article is discharged therefrom as stated; The movement of reciprocations of i the carriage, before-effecting discharge of; the folded article, is governed by the number of impulses necessary to rotate the'cain a" complete revolution, which in turn is iependent upon the length of action on the ratchet wheel and. the throwof the yoke. If

it is desired to vary the number of-such impulses, the connections of the rods 58v and 78 to the yoke may bevaried relative to the pivotal mounting of theyoke so as to effect the desired length of stroke by connecting the rods 57 and 58 to the yoke nearer the shaft 17 or farther away from said shaft,

to vary the length of movement of said rods and thereby increase or decrease the number of impulses necessary to rotate the cams 56 and 81.

While the invention has been specifically shown and described, I do notdesire to limit myself to the exact. details of construction shown but may employ such modifications in the details of construction" and arrangement of various parts as come within the scope of the appended claims'without departing from I a the spirit thereof. Iclaim: 7 1. In a machine for folding sheet material, a .carrige on which the article to be folded may be fed from a point thereabove, means for-reciprocating said carriage, and means for advancing the folded article to vone side ofthe carriage at the termination of a predetermined number of reciprocatrons thereof, said last named means being automatically controlled by movement of,

the carriage.

2. In a machine for folding sheet. material, a carriage on Which the article to be folded may be fed from a point thereabove, means forreciprocating said carriage, means for advancingthe folded article to one side of the carriage atrthe termination of a predetermined number of reciprocations thereof, and means for automatically removing the folded article from the carriage,

3. In a machine for folding .sheet-ma- ;terial,.a carriage arranged to receive a down said carriage for effecting alternate rotation of; said shaft tov impart reciprocal movement to said carriage, and means for regulating the length of stroke of said carriage.

'5. In'a machine for folding sheet material, a carriage arranged to receive a downwardly fed sheet, an auxiliary shaft, means for moving said carriage on rotation of said i shaft, means controlled by movement of said-carri'agefor effecting alternate rotation of said shaft to impart rec procal move ment to said carriage, a series of belts extending transversely of said carriage and projecting forwardly thereof, and means for rotating said belts intermittently toadvance the sheet folded thereon; V

6. In a machine for folding sheet ma 7 terial, a carriage arranged'to rece ve adovvn-v Wardly fed sheet, an auxiliary shaft, means for moving said carriageon rotation of said shaft, means controlled 'by movement of said carriage for effecting alternate rotationv of said shaft to impart reciprocal movement to said carriage, aseries-of belts ex tending transversely of said carriage and projecting forwardly thereof, and meansfor rotating said belts intermittently to advance the sheet folded thereon, said last named means controlled by the shaft reversing means.

7. In a machlne for folding sheet material, a carriage arranged to receive a down vz ardly fed sheet, anauxiliary shaft, means for movlng said carriage on rotation of said shaft, means vcontrolled by movement of said carriage for eifectingalternate ro-c tationof said shaft to lmpart reciprocal movement to said carriage, a series of belts extending transversely ofsaid carriage and projecting forwardly thereof, means for rotating said belts intermittently to advance the sheet folded thereon, and means for removing the folded sheet from saidbelts.

8. In a machine for folding sheet ma-v telial, a carriage on Which. the articleto be folded may be fed fromvapoint thereabove,-

means for reciprocating said carriage, pulleys mounted on said carriage, belts travel ing over said pulleys and over said carriage,

means for operating said pulleys and belts todraw the folded material to one side-of said carriage, and means ovenwhich the, folded material is thus drawn for .plcklng elts and up the folded material'from said b delivering it from the machine.

, HERBERT E. PnLToN; 

